Below is today's statement from Jello Biafra. On the Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine European tour, the band is wrapping up the trip with a show in Tel Aviv, Israel. The band will also be traveling to the West Bank.

Dear friends,

Thanks a lot for caring enough to weigh in with all your comments and suggestions. I can't deny I'm glad this has stirred up so much debate. People unaware of the Palestinian side(s) of the story can now use all these links to learn a lot more.

Some have suggested I go to Israel alone for a personal fact-finding mission before bringing the band. Good idea, but I don't have the money and free time some people may think I do. The way I get overseas is to play my way there, so to speak.

We tried for a gig in Ramallah, but no luck. No, I wouldn't have played Sun City back in South Africa's apartheid days. But an underground punk show for an anti-apartheid audience might have been tempting, especially for them. (some RSA punks did ask).

I don't see how the Netanyahu government could manipulate this event for their own purposes. What right wing regime in their right mind would want to namedrop me? I am not exactly known for keep my mouth shut onstage, especially about human rights violations. There is no government sponsorship of this show.

Please understand that we are still torn up about this, in no small part because we are probably 95 - 99% in agreement on this issue with the people writing in. I have been part of Peace Now for years and have contributed to at least one Palestinian medical aid organization.

The main reason I wanted to do this in the first place is not just to see first hand what is going on, but for our likely audience of people already there who are as outraged over the extreme oppression as we are.

I think of all the spoken word shows I have done in the American Deep South, especially smaller towns, where it seemed like every radical and progressive person from a wide area showed up, and let me know how thankful they were I even bothered to come. That they looked around the room and felt they weren't alone. Or that not every American is down with either of our governments' non-stop human rights violations, and that it is important to have allies and friends.

Jello Biafra rocks old R&B classics w/ the New Orleans Raunch & Soul Allstars May 8th! Despite his reputation as punk & political icon, he is a huge fan of many genres of music, so this is a chance for him to do something unusual and different. With members of Dash Rip Rock and Cowboy Mouth backing him up, this is a one-off event, one night only, at the 12-Bar in New Orleans.

"Two band members have been called back to New Jersey due to an urgent family emergency." - Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine have had to cancel their Las Vegas appearances this Friday & Saturday. As soon as we know more information about current show/rescheduling we'll post an update.
Our deepest, best thoughts go out to our GSM friends who are grappling with this family crisis.

In this episode, a heavily made-up Jello (on the set of a film he's doing) holds forth on the Alberta's Tar Sands and the dirty secret of Canada's oil supply. (Canada now supplies more oil to the U.S. than any other country.) WWJD?